1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an electronic circuit which functionally performs the same operation as a 1:1 (or unity turns ratio) current transformer; but, unlike its passive, mutually coupled inductive counterpart, does so unilaterally through essentially a one-to-infinity, input to output, impedance level conversion which prevents reverse interaction between its counterpoised ports.
2. General Description of the Prior Art
It may be simply stated that prior to this invention, no simple electronic network could be found that exhibited the combined properties of very low input impedance and very high transfer characteristic linearity when driven from a voltage source and quiescently biased in the low microampere current range. While such requirements at first glance appear to resemble the intrinsic features of an ordinary bi-polar transistor operated in the common base configuration, close scrutiny points out that a common base transistor stage possesses a linear transfer function only when driven by a current source (not a voltage source) since its input impedance varies widely as an inverse function of the emitter current.
It is the object of the present invention to provide with a simple circuit of few components what is best termed a solidstate current transformer exhibiting both a low input impedance and a linear transfer characteristic between input and output while operating at extremely low input levels.